MLB Player News
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Kai-Wei Teng SP | HOU
Astros' Kai-Wei Teng: Competing for bullpen spot
Teng has impressed the Astros' staff early in spring, giving him a chance to make the Opening Day roster, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
Per Rome, Houston has been impressed by Teng's ability to record swinging strikes "with multiple breaking balls". The right-hander was traded to the Astros in late January after posting a 6.37 ERA across 29.2 innings with San Francisco last year. Teng's ability to provide multiple innings out of the bullpen is certainly viewed as an asset, as Houston plans to open the season with a six-man rotation. Their middle relief depth has already been tested, as Enyel De Los Santos (knee) has yet to resume throwing, opening the door for Teng to claim a roster spot.
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Michael Burrows SP | HOU
Astros' Mike Burrows: Sharp in spring debut
Burrows pitched two innings in Sunday's Grapefruit League matchup against the Cardinals, allowing no runs on one hit and a walk while striking out two.
It was an encouraging Astros debut for Burrows, who got the start against a St. Louis lineup that featured some projected Opening Day starters. Burrows, who joined Houston via trade in December, is coming off a solid rookie season with the Pirates, where he posted a 3.94 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP and 9.1 K/9 across 96 innings. The right-hander is expected to slot into the middle of a new-look Astros' rotation.
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Kyle Bradish SP | BAL
Orioles' Kyle Bradish: Mixed results in spring debut
Bradish allowed two runs on three hits and one walk in two innings during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against Detroit. He struck out two.
Following a clean first inning, Bradish struggled in the second frame while yielding a pair of runs. The 29-year-old right-hander threw 22 of his 35 pitches for strikes, and his sinker topped out at 95.8 mph. The Orioles are expected to have some form of limitations in place for Bradish in 2026 -- Tommy John surgery has held the righty to 14 starts since 2024 -- and Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com also notes that Bradish is prioritizing his health as opposed to increasing his velocity. Baltimore's plans for his workload could become clearer as spring training progresses.
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Brandon Young SP | BAL
Orioles' Brandon Young: Poor first spring appearance
Young was charged with a blown save during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in two innings. He struck out two.
Young served up a solo home run to Austin Slater in the third inning. The 27-year-old right-hander is in contention to begin the season in Baltimore's rotation, but he'll need to bounce back soon in order to keep pace with the club's other candidates. After posting a 6.24 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over 12 regular-season starts in 2025, Young appears initially to be the least likely of Dean Kremer, Tyler Wells and Cade Povich to crack the Opening Day rotation.
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Brayan Bello SP | BOS
Red Sox's Brayan Bello: Roughed up by Toronto
Bello allowed four runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings during Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. He didn't factor into the decision.
Bello got off to a rocky start in his first action of the spring, as he was touched up for four runs in the top of the first inning and then removed in the middle of the frame after hurling 24 pitches. He would return for the top of the second inning and responded well by firing a scoreless frame. Bello put together the best season of his young career a year ago, posting a 3.35 ERA with 124 strikeouts over 166.2 regular-season innings, so there's little reason to worry about a poor outing this early in the spring.
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Alek Manoah SP | LAA
Angels' Alek Manoah: Flashes uptick in velocity
Manoah walked two batters and didn't allow a run over two innings during Sunday's Cactus League game against the Diamondbacks. He didn't factor into the decision.
Manoah looked solid in his first start this spring and managed to work around a pair of walks by inducing two double plays. The right-hander's fastball was clocked at 93-to-94 mph in the first inning, which is a substantial uptick after he was sitting between 89 and 92 mph last September in the minor leagues, per Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register. Manoah's velocity dipped a bit in the second inning, as his fastball sat around 91-92, but it was still a successful spring debut for the 28-year-old, who will need to impress in camp to earn a spot in the Angels' rotation.
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Patrick Sandoval SP | BOS
Red Sox's Patrick Sandoval: May open season on IL
Sandoval's early-spring progression in camp indicates it's possible he opens the season on the injured list, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Sandoval is working his way back from Tommy John surgery that prevented him from pitching in 2025, but the southpaw recently threw a live batting practice session. However, Sandoval isn't among the scheduled starters for the first six Grapefruit League games that manager Alex Cora revealed to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com last Thursday. The competition for the final spot in the rotation includes Sandoval, Kutter Crawford (wrist), Connelly Early, Johan Oviedo and Payton Tolle.
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Payton Tolle SP | BOS
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Makes spring debut
Tolle allowed one run on one hit and struck out one over two innings in Saturday's spring game against the Twins.
Tolle mixed in secondary offerings to kick off the Grapefruit League slate for Boston, which is the team's goal for the left-hander. He added sinkers, curves, changeups, cutters and one slider to the mix among his 20 pitches (13 strikes). The one run allowed came on a Royce Lewis home run off his four-seamer, after he couldn't put the Twins third baseman away with a changeup. Other than that, it was a fine outing for the 23-year-old, who is competing for the final spot in the rotation against Johan Oviedo, Connelly Early and two veterans that didn't throw a pitch in 2025, Kutter Crawford (wrist) and Patrick Sandoval (elbow).
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Joey Cantillo SP | CLE
Guardians' Joey Cantillo: Hiccup in spring debut
Cantillo allowed two runs on three hits while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Saturday's spring start against the Brewers.
Cantillo started a split-squad game to begin his candidacy for one of three available spots in Cleveland's rotation. After giving up two hits and a run in the first inning, the left-hander was removed to ensure he could get a second up-and-down. Cantillo then allowed a home run to lead off the second frame but was able to build his pitch count up to 33 (22 strikes). He is competing with Logan Allen, who started the Guardians' other game Saturday, Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick for spots behind Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams.
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Logan Taylor Allen SP | CLE
Guardians' Logan Allen: Works spring opener
Allen allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two scoreless innings in Saturday's spring start against the Reds.
Allen kicked off his quest to claim one of three available spots in the Guardians rotation. The left-hander worked around a double and a walk in the first inning before leaving after 32 pitches (19 strikes) in the Cactus League opener. This might be Allen's only spring start before he departs camp to join Panama for the World Baseball Classic. Beyond locks Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, Cleveland will evaluate Allen, Joey Cantillo, Slade Cecconi and Parker Messick this spring in the battle to round out the rotation.